COMPOSER SABRINA PENA YOUNG | MUSIC TECHNOLOGY | FILM | CLASSICAL | OPERA

Today I am giving a lecture at Buffalo State on Making of a 21st Century Opera: Libertaria . The question about the future of opera amidst budget cuts, economic downturn, and an ever expanding availability of musical choices has led those musicians who write large scale forms of music like symphonies, operas , oratorios, and ballets to find other creative outlets including online media, film music, royalty-free music libraries, jingles, and production.  BELOW Perry R. Cook and Matt Meadows lend their voices for "Metal Ink" from Libertaria: The Virtual Opera. After each soloist recorded their vocals, Patrick Rundbladh and I combined their vocal takes into a single solo where the character sings in duet with himself.  The question is if large scale traditional musical productions are viable today. When I began work on Libertaria: The Virtual Opera a couple of years ago, I wanted to create an opera that not only was feasible but was incredibly portable. T...

While attending an online faculty meeting, I was asked about the changing roles of students and faculty. I thought I would share this response to changes in education and academics. I think that the role of the faculty and students have changed equally. The students have graduated into a poor economy that leaves half of them unemployed despite thousands of dollars of student debt.  On the flip side, academia has suffered budget cuts and tenured track jobs are difficult to get and rapidly disappearing as online education   becomes the preferred mode of learning.  I myself originally thought I would be in academia full time and now find that I am an independent contractor instead (composer/writer/artist). I find it ironic that many of my friends who chose to become band directors instead of composers because of job stability in education are now scrambling to find work while I have career success and job flexibility in the artistic field.  Stud...

Hulk (comics) (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Free Halloween Music and Free Sheet Music It's that time of year - Halloween ! Here are links to my Halloween music freebies about the net! Enjoy fun kid's songs, scary music downloads , free sheet music and spooky tunes. Download Halloween Kid's Song 'Halloween is Coming Soon' and Spooky Tunes! Halloween has always been my favorite holiday. For my first Halloween my mom dressed me up as an alien. Now I dress my daughter as "Hulky" (her choice, it's the Incredible Hulk with a green tutu, courtesy of my mom...). Ironically, my daughter's birthday is Halloween (not planned the kiddo was 10 days late!) and I was supposed to be a Halloween baby (but I was late!). So it all goes full circle and now Halloween is my busiest time of year.   Download FREE Spooky Tunes Lullaby, Symphony of Shadows, & More at Reverbnation! Millikin University Percussion Ensemble Halloween Concert Halloween (Ph...

I suppose we all have those days, when no matter what your good intentions, a good day starts out ok and then slowly spirals into mayhem. For some reason, our best efforts melt by the wayside, tiredness kicks in, your smile melts into a frown, and you wonder if you will ever be able to balance the thousand self-inflicted projectiles that you are attempted to juggle.  I guess that is how I felt today, trying to balance online classes with my three-year-old, finishing up a video and getting ready for a music class tomorrow, trying to clean the house for visiting friends, and dressing for affiliation with Sigma Alpha Iota , the international music fraternity for women. And I guess that's when I realize that I am trying to fill the roles of several people - mom, wife, musician, teacher, friend, and I can't do it all, all of the time. Some days I will fail, like today when I found my head almost literally spinning in circles. All that was missing was the pea soup.  I ...

Are you ready? After the excitement of the World Premier of Libertaria: The Virtual Opera at Classical Concerts at Calvary, what is next for this cutting edge contemporary opera?  It's time to launch the 2013 Libertaria Virtual Launch Party!  What is a Virtual Launch Party?   If you love sci-fi, if you love animation, movies, music, opera, or just want to be part of the new face of opera - virtual opera created with and for today's technology, then sign up for the Virtual Launch Party ! Anyone can party! SIGN ME UP FOR THE VIRTUAL LAUNCH PARTY! Want to be part of the Opera Launch Party ? Then contact me ( Sabrina Peña Young ) at spenayoung@gmail.com . To be part of the Opera Launch Party you need to commit to at least one public screening of Libertaria: The Virtual Opera .  Send me information about the proposed screening date, the venue, and your organization or bio, and mailing address. Preference will be given to film clubs , student grou...

After nearly three years of production, Libertaria: The Virtual Opera  will premier in South Florida at Classical Concerts at Calvary in Lake Worth Florida. An exciting cutting edge animated contemporary opera, Libertaria  is an exciting contemporary opera for the digital age with graphic novel style and an exciting cinematic sound that combines the best of opera with contemporary music. An epic tale of a young teen who escapes from a genetic factory to pair up with her addict father to overthrow evil scientists who have taken over the world in a post-USSA dystopia. Check out this incredible contemporary opera this Saturday!  STUDENTS ARE FREE FOR THIS EVENT!   Teens and university students are encouraged to attend this event for FREE! Bring your friends and family to an exciting cutting edge sci-fi contemporary opera from the future! If you love graphic novels, video games, and movies, then you will love Libertaria! LIBERTARIA SOUNDTRACK (2 Disk Sp...

This summer the Hand family, my husband's second family, received news that 3-year-old Grayson Hand had leukemia. Needless to say, this summer the Hand family's world turned upside down. A large community of friends and family gathered around them, prayers from all over the world came in, and each day hundreds of people pray and help the family through sweet Grayson's ordeal, a cancer journey that will take at least three years of intense treatment and an incredible amount of resources. On October 5th friends and family will be hosting  a Leukemia Benefit for Grayson Hand. It is an auction held at the La Salle Reception Center in Southbridge MA. CLICK to Sign up for the Leukemia Benefit Today MORE INFORMATION: Be a helping hand in Grayson’s fight against Leukemia Raffles, 50/50, Silent and Live Auctions, Dinner and Music $35.00 ticket price. Tickets available for purchase at any Savers Bank location or the Tri‐Community YMCA. To purchase tickets through mail,...

World premier screening for the world's first original machinima opera by award-winning composer Sabrina Pena Young October 5th at 3PM at Calvary United Methodist Church in Lake Worth Florida.  Students are free for this opera event ! (Bring Student ID. Rec omme n de d Age 13+) Regular tickets at $10. The event will start with a composer chat before the screening.  Libertaria: The Virtual Opera is an exciting sci-fi opera about the young teen Libertaria who escapes from a Genetics Factory and teams up with her addict father Simeon to blow up the evil reverse-aging Collective in a post-USA dystopia.  Libertaria is a 21st century opera for the Digital Age. It is an opera for the masses, combining the traditional opera style with contemporary technology in an exciting opera experience heavily influenced by technology, gaming, and machinima. Related articles Getting ready for the Opera Premier Doing Machinima Opera Happy Dance: LIBERTARIA IS FINISHED! ...